You have my complete sympathy for your condition.........wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

However, it is not a "disease"........in the traditional sense of the term. It's not something you "catch" or your body attacking itself in a autoimmune fashion. There is no pathogen that is behind the problem.

The problem is more mechanical then physiological. The spine is very dynamic and every single segment is responsible for a certain amount of motion on many levels (bend, twist, rotate or a combo of all). When that motion becomes restricted through anything from simple wear and tear all the way to the most severe trauma it has no choice but to try and adapt to maintain it's dynamic function. This means the segments that are not "stuck" begin to move more to compensate for the ones that are moving less. This chain of events puts stress and pressure on areas of the spine that were not intended to handle such a workload. Bone spurs begin to develope as the body lays down more bone in an atempt to strengthen the weak joints (eventually they will fuse together) and the disc material starts to wear down like a tire on a poorly aligned car. With the outer layer of the discs being a VERY tough fibrous layer of tissue and the center being a viscous "jelly" like substance it is only a matter of time before the fibers start to weaken or micro-tear and the center material which is under pressure constantly causes a bulge or rupture.

Unfortunately many people are unaware that proper spinal biomechanics are extrememly important in dealing with DDD.......they focus on the symptoms of DDD instead of the cause behind it. I don't care how many times you change the tires on a car........if the alignment is off they will just keep wearing out.

Pain management should be an adjunct to treatment........and not primary care as it does nothing to improve your condition.

Best of luck to both of you guys.